Public Campaign to FEC: Allow Text Message Campaign Contributions

Submitted by Aaron Scherb on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 15:51

Public Campaign, along with nine other organizations (listed below), sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission encouraging it to allow text message (SMS) campaign contributions as a way to promote more small donors to participate in the political process.

"Small donors are a critical component of our democratic process, and technology can play a crucial role in helping to empower the voices of more Americans. More than 30 million Americans have texted a contribution to a charitable cause, and many people would likely text a donation to a political candidate if the practice is enabled [at the federal level]."

The benefits of SMS political contributions include increasing civic engagement by bringing more people into the political process and enabling Members of Congress to spend more time with constituents and less time dialing for dollars.

The nine other organizations that signed the letter to the FEC include: Campaign Legal Center, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Communications Workers of America (CWA), Democracy Matters, Demos, Public Citizen, Rootstrikers, United Republic, and U.S. PIRG.